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Charlie X (episode)
The Enterprise takes seventeen-year-old Charles Evans aboard for transport after he spent fourteen years alone on a deserted planet, but he's unable to interact with his fellow Humans. Summary ]] The rendezvouses with the Antares, a small survey ship. While investigating the planet Thasus, the Antares discovered a young boy named Charles Evans who had been raised by a mysterious, ancient alien race. Evans transfers to the Enterprise, which is going to Colony 5, where Evans' only relatives live. Captain Ramart and his navigator, Tom Nellis, are eager to be on their way, even refusing Kirk's offer of Saurian brandy. But they are also effusive in their praise of Charlie. This is the first of many mysteries surrounding Charlie. Charlie attempts to learn and integrate, demonstrating the effect of his years away from all Human contact. At the same time, strange incidents occur in his vicinity. Charlie is also struggling mightily with adolescence and with his first crush, on Yeoman Janice Rand. In the briefing lounge, where Uhura is singing "Oh, On the Starship Enterprise" to a rapt Rand, Rand ignores Charlie's card tricks; he secretly silences Uhura, so that he can have Rand's undivided attention. At extreme range, Captain Ramart attempts to contact the Enterprise, but before he can say more than "I've got to warn...", his ship is destroyed. Charlie advises Kirk that "It wasn't very well constucted" – a strange comment, since it comes before Spock actually confirms the Antares' destruction. Kirk takes pity on Charlie and attempts to befriend him, taking him to the physical training room for some light sparring. Initially refusing to participate, Charlie falls awkwardly and prompts laughter from Sam, one of Kirk's sparring partners. Humiliated and angry, Charlie makes Sam "go away", revealing his powers. Confronted, Charlie admits to destroying the Antares by making a warped baffle plate in its energy pile "go away". He defends his action by claiming that the ship would have blown up anyway, and that the crew weren't nice to him. Kirk speculates that Charlie might be a Thasian, but McCoy's medical analysis results make this an unlikely possibility. Charlie, his powers now common knowledge, takes overt control of the Enterprise. Attempts to thwart him fail, and he wreaks havoc. He wants to go to Colony 5; Kirk knows that the mayhem he'd create in that unstructured setting would be far worse than what he's done so far. Determined to stop Charlie before he can reach Colony 5, Kirk attempts to overload his abilities, ordering more and more ship's systems activated. In the midst of this struggle, a ship from Thasus appears. The Thasians granted Charlie immense powers so he could live – powers that they cannot, or will not, remove. Certain it would be impossible for Charlie to live a normal life with his own people, the Thasians remove him to their vessel and depart. Log Entries *"Captain's log, stardate 1533.6. Now maneuvering to come alongside cargo vessel ''Antares. Its captain and first officer are beaming over to us with an unusual passenger." *"''Captain's log, stardate 1533.7. We have taken aboard an unusual passenger for transport to Colony Alpha V. Charles Evans, the sole survivor of a transport crash fourteen years ago. The child, alone from age 3, has not only survived, but has grown to intelligent, healthy adolescence." *"Captain's log, stardate 1535.8. UESPA headquarters notified of the mysterious loss of science probe vessel ''Antares." Memorable Quotes "''Tiger, tiger, burning bright in the forest of the night." : - Spock "Saturn rings around my head, down a road that's Martian red." : - Spock "Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary." : - Spock "CHARLIE! You just don't go around slapping girls on the...!" : - Yeoman Janice Rand "Sir, I put meatloaf in the ovens, there's turkeys in there now. Real turkeys." : - Galley chef "She's... she's just a girl. You're... you smell like a girl. All the other girls on the ship, they... they look just like Tina. You're the only one... who looks like you. You can understand, can't you? You know about... being with somebody? Wanting to be? If I had the whole universe... I'd give it to you. When I see you, I... I feel like I'm hungry... all over. Hungry. Do you know how ''that feels?" : - '''Charlie', to Yeoman Janice Rand "That's enough, Charlie." "Don't you think he's funny? I think he's funny." "Leave my crew alone!" : - Kirk and Charlie "There's no right way to hit a woman." : - Kirk Background Information *This episode was directed by Lawrence Dobkin, who later guest-starred as Ambassador Kell in . * James Doohan (Scotty) and George Takei (Sulu) do not appear in this episode, although two words of Takei's dialog from are dubbed in when Kirk calls the bridge from the gymnasium. * The Galley chef was voiced by Gene Roddenberry, in his only acting role in Star Trek. * Gene Roddenberry had written a one-sentence synopsis of this episode on the first page of his original series outline for Star Trek under the title "The Day Charlie Became God." The page is reproduced in the Herbert F. Solow-Robert H. Justman volume Inside Star Trek: The Real story. * "Charlie X" was adapted for a novelization by James Blish. It was published in the first Bantam Books Star Trek novelization collection in under the original script name, "Charlie's Law." (This name is a pun on Charles' Law, a law of physics dealing with how changes in temperature affect the volume of a gas.) *Although it may not canonically represent the creative staff's intentions, the novelization identifies the unnamed crewman named Sam (that Charlie "disposes" of) as Sam Ellis, an officer on McCoy's medical staff. The episode made it clear that he, along with all of the officers who were disfigured by Charlie, were "restored" along with Rand when the Thasians intervened. The USS Antares could not be saved because, as the Thasian explained, it was destroyed "in this frame" whereas the zapped Enterprise personnel were "kept intact in the next frame." * In the scene in Rand's quarters, when Charlie flings Kirk and Spock against the wall, the wall has a hole punched in it. On an earlier take, Leonard Nimoy had struck the wall too forcefully. This alternate take can be seen at the end of the episode's preview. * This is the first time we see the brig in the series, although the electrically charged "bars" that emerge from either side of the doorway will be removed and replaced with lights hereafter. During season two, it was given a permanent location in the hallway leading to the engineering set (which is near this set across the hallway). This same spot is used as the guest quarters in , and as part of Engineering in . Finally it becomes the medical lab in . * Charlie wears one of the old turtleneck shirts from . * Spock's scanners in this episode make the same sound the Metron transmission does in . * After this episode William Shatner only wore tights once more, in . He later poked fun at his costume in this episode when clips of it were shown as part of the History Channel show, How William Shatner Changed the World. * After Charlie transforms Tina Lawton into an iguana, the noise the reptile makes is identical to the sounds made by Sylvia and Korob's true forms at the end of . * The grates in the floors of the corridors disappeared in later episodes. In one scene, Charlie takes great delight in watching a technician lower some tubing into one of these floor grates. * Publicity stills of Grace Lee Whitney were used on the playing cards Charlie modifies. * This is the first of six original series episodes that takes place entirely aboard the Enterprise. The others are , , , , and . * During the first-season episodes, cinematographer Jerry Finnerman was encouraged to maximize placement of colored background lighting to add exotic warmth to the gray walls of the Enterprise set. This was a major promotional point for NBC, as Star Trek was a selling point for color televisions. As pressure to complete episodes grew, this touch gradually faded from the series. NBC was owned at the time by RCA, a major manufacturer of color television sets. (Inside Star Trek) * Like Trelane, Apollo and the Gorgan, Charlie makes his exit with fading repetition of his final words. * The music accompanying Charlie's disappearance at the end of this episode would be re-used effectively in ; as the landing party beams onto the Botany Bay; in for the death of John Gill; in as Chekov witnesses the dead engineering crew on the Defiant; as Kirk wanders the empty corridors of the faux-''Enterprise'' early in and in during Daystrom's final conversation with his M-5 computer. * The opening credits of this episode are the same as those used in , which included a "Created by Gene Roddenberry" credit. The credits at the close of the episode only list Roddenberry as Producer. Also, the credits for William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy are missing the "starring" and "also starring" designations. This episode followed in airdate order. The main titles were standardized for syndication, however the DVD prints restore the titles to their original configuration. * Still not firmly set in his characterization in this early episode, Spock both shows irritation and smiles as Uhura makes fun of him. It seems that he has learned how to express irritation ("Ah yes, one of your Earth emotions") fairly quickly since the events of . * When Kirk and Charlie have their final confrontation, the camera moves to a rare floor-level view of the bridge. This close-up shows that the set is carpeted. This was probably done as a noise-absorber, given the propensity of the set to pick up noises like plumbing and squeaking floors. * The United Earth Space Probe Agency is referenced for the first time in this episode, with the acronym "UESPA". Years later, Star Trek: Enterprise would reference UESPA in several episodes, including . * The scene where Charlie witnesses one crewman give another a friendly swat on the butt is frequently cut for syndication. This unfortunately removes imitation as Charlie's motivation when he does the same to Yeoman Rand. * DS9 writer Ira Steven Behr says that this is the episode that "won him over". http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/6952/iramsn.txt * The line "Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary" spoken by Spock while under Charlie's influence is the first line of the poem " ", by . * The song that Uhura sings to Spock and then Charlie may have been taken from an old Scottish folk song penned by Robert Burns called "Charlie, He's My Darling". The chorus in that song is almost identical to what Uhura sings. http://www.robertburns.org/works/458.shtml * This is the only episode shot after the pilots to have no exterior views of the Enterprise using the updated "series" model. All of the shots are footage from and . * According to Kirk's line "On Earth today it's Thanksgiving", the beginning of this episode takes place on 22 November 2266. Production Timeline * "Charlie Is God" by Gene Roddenberry: * Story outline by Gene Roddenberry: * Story outline by Gene Roddenberry: * Treatment by D.C. Fontana: * Treatment by D.C. Fontana: * Second draft teleplay by D.C. Fontana: * Final draft: Script vs. screen * The second draft of this episode's script was completed , with the final draft coming in on 5 July. The episode itself was filmed in mid-July. * In the final draft, the card trick Charlie plays with Janice, which reveals her photograph on the cards, is not specified. The script simply states that Charlie performs a variety of card tricks which amaze Janice and the onlookers. * The script calls for the Antares to be seen. Remastered Information The remastered version of "Charlie X" aired in many North American markets during the weekend of . The episode included new effects shots of the Thasian ship, replacing the blob-like object seen on screen with a torpedo-shaped vessel. Most notably, the remastered episode opens with a shot featuring the Antares, a new design based upon the robot grain ships seen in the Star Trek: The Animated Series episode . File:USS Enterprise alongside the Antares.jpg|The Enterprise and the Antares rendezvous Image:Thasian ship.jpg|The original Thasian ship... Image:Thasian ship, remastered.jpg|...and the remastered counterpart. Video and DVD releases *Original US Betamax release: . *Original UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 5, catalogue number VHR 2250, release date unknown. *US VHS release: . *UK re-release (three-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 1.3, . *Original US DVD release (single-disc): Volume 4, . *As part of the TOS Season 1 DVD collection. *As part of the TOS Season 1 HD-DVD collection. * As part of the TOS Season 1 Blu-ray collection. Links and references Starring * William Shatner as Kirk Also starring * Leonard Nimoy as Spock Guest star * Robert Walker as Charles Evans Featuring * DeForest Kelley as Dr. McCoy * Grace Lee Whitney as Yeoman Rand * Nichelle Nichols as Uhura * Charles J. Stewart as Captain Ramart * Dallas Mitchell as Nellis * Don Eitner as the Navigator * Patricia McNulty as Tina Lawton * John Bellah as Crewman I * Garland Thompson as Crewman II :And: *Abraham Sofaer as "The Thasian" Uncredited Co-Stars * William Blackburn as Hadley * Frank da Vinci as Vinci * Bobby Herron as Sam * John Lindesmith as the helmsman * Eddie Paskey as Leslie * Gene Roddenberry as the of the galley chef * George Takei as Sulu (voice only; recycled audio) * Ron Veto as Harrison * Laura Wood as an old lady crewwoman * Unknown actor as Bobby Stunt double * Loren Janes as Kirk's stunt double References 2249; 2252; Antares; ; astronaut; atmospheric system; baffle plate; biology; chess master; Colony Alpha V (Colony V, Earth Colony V); dossier; Earth history; Earthling; electronic clipboard; energy pile; entertainment tapes; food concentrate; fruit; governor; gymnasium; iguana; Martian; mathematics; meat loaf; memory banks; micro-tape; navigation console; non-corporeal species; Oh, On the Starship Enterprise; poetry; probe scanner; puberty; quadrant; Raven, The; record tapes; Satan; Saturn; Saurian brandy; science-probe vessel; ship's stores; shoulder roll; survey ship; Thanksgiving; Thasian; Thasian ship; Thasus; three-dimensional chess; transmitter; transmutation; transport ship; turkey; Tyger, The; United Earth Space Probe Agency; UESPA Headquarters; vegetable; Vulcan lute External link * |next= |lastair= |nextair= |lastair_remastered= |nextair_remastered= }} de:Der Fall Charlie es:Charlie X fr:Charlie X nl:Charlie X sv:Charlie X Category:TOS episodes